PERMISSION for a new telecommunications tower at land near Ipplepen has been granted despite a raft of objections.

Submitted to Teignbridge District Council (TDC) on July 25 by Telent Technology Services Limited on behalf of EE Ltd, 25/01259/TEL sought permission to build a 20-metre high phone mast on land to the west of Townsend Hill to provide improved 2G, 4G and new 5G capacity and coverage.

And TDC have approved the application, albeit subject to conditions, namely that no development shall take place without an archaeological survey having been undertaken and submitted for approval.

25/01259/TEL also includes provision for three antennas, two dishes, a GPS node and two, ground-based equipment cabins, as well as a seven by seven metre timber fenced ‘compound’ at the base.

‘The requirement for a new mobile phone base station in this area is to provide improved mobile phone coverage to Ipplepen, including local residents, visitors, and businesses’, the planning statement for 25/01259/TEL reads.

‘The mast height is the minimum required in order to ensure operational efficiency - a structure with such a height is needed in this locality because of the local topography and existing tree cover’, the statement goes on to say.

The application saw more than 50 objections lodged against it, including from Ipplpen Parish Council.

The council drew attention to the visual impact, saying a 20-metre lattice tower is a ‘significant intrusion’, as well as the lack of archaeological and ecological assessments.

‘The proposal is not in keeping with the Ipplepen Neighbourhood Development Plan regarding protecting landscape and residential amenity’, the council said in its objection.

Having been granted permission by TDC on September 18, work ‘shall begin before the expiry of five years from the date of this permission’, says TDC in its decision notice.

For more information, and to read TDC’s decision notice in full, visit the council’s planning portal and enter ‘25/01259/TEL’ into the search-box.